Out Of Time
by xStarletx
Summary: BEING REWRITTEN / Magic brought Addison from her time to Camelot so Magic should be able to bring her back, except magic is outlawed and anyone who can wield it is dead. So Addison lives, in the Camelot dungeons, enraging Uther, teasing Arthur and making friends out of the servants. But when Merlin comes, the real adventures starts.
1. Prologue

Out of Time

By: xStarletx

_A/n: So It's BAAAACCCKKKKK and it's new and improved. I'm in the process of rewriting the whole thing, not only is it going to be in the past but there will be some future parts with future Merlin and it's promising to be a great epic. Pretty please review, as it motivates me to get things up faster :D I hope I still have readers. _

Prologue: Out of Fire

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The Day was light and airy, the breeze smelt of summer flowers and the sun drifted in through the leaves painting the forest path a warm green color. Prince Arthur walked along the path, he strode light and without purpose for today he was wandering and he had nowhere to go. He wore a light red tunic and his plain brown pants, he wasn't dressed for grandeur because this was the kind of day where Arthur could forget about his duties, his kingdom and that he was a prince. These were the few blessed moment where he could pretend he was normal and he cherished that.

He liked the feel of the breeze playing with his blond hair, probably making him look uncouth and uncivilized and he smiled at the thought. He often wondered what it was like to be a commoner and he often assumed that it just meant he would be dirty and than he was grateful for being born a royal.

He found the lake and chose to walk along the shore. The water was sparkling in the daylight like a freshly cut sapphire. The waters were calm and the bugs were buzzing, he could hear the fish splashing among the reeds and all of it was calming against the stressed nerves of the Crown Prince. Knowing that he would have to return soon was saddening so he chose to ignore it and continue around the lake, deciding that once he walked all around the lake he'd head back to the castle.

He had almost made a full circle when someone stepped in front of him. It was a pretty dirty looking man, most likely a peasant. His clothes were common and loose, but what alarmed Arthur was the sword he held in his hands. Arthur took a step back a hand on the hilt of his own sword. He glanced around and saw foure men step out of the bushes and all of his training sprang to life in his mind.

They all had crude weapons in their hands, each looked as poor and dirty as their leader. "Arthur Penndragon," the leader said bowing lowly in a mocking manner. "I know many who would pay for your head."

The leader took a step forward, his hand wavering back and forth in his hand. Arthur took a precautionary step back while unsheathing his sword. "I daresay you'll have a right hard time parting me from my head. I'm rather attached to it," Arthur warned him.

It was common knowledge that he was the most skilled warrior in Camelot, and it was only fair that he gave this leader a chance to turn and run. Regardless the leader lunged forward swinging his word in Arthur's general direction not a single bit of finesse in the movement. It was easy for Arthur to block it and even easier to force the leader back half a step.

From his right a man lunged and Arthur side stepped him sending the man crashing into the shallow reedy part of the lake. One man from behind swung a club at Arthur's head. Arthur ducked before jumped forward and forcing his shoulder into his stomach. It would be easy to kill these men but Arthur wanted to avoid that, they weren't necessarily bad people just misguided. He wanted to give them a chance to escape instead of ruthlessly slaughtering them all.

There was a crunch of booted feet on the ground close to him and Arthur turned in time to block the arching swing from the leader. Arthur was off balance however and the sheer power behind the swing forced him down to one knee to keep the blade for embedding in his collar. The leader paused and raised his sword above himself as Arthur struggled to right himself so this blow wouldn't kill him and there was a sudden crackle.

It was like lightening flashing through the sky but there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. They both turned and found that the lake was bubbling and above it was a rippling image. In a second there was a flash closely followed by a loud boom and then something sprung forth from the image. Whatever it was it crashed right into the leader with such force and speed that he was knocked off his feet and out cold.

The other men stood in silence as the ripple vanished. There were cries of _witchcraft_ and _sorcery_ and then they all turned and fled leaving their defenceless leader to fend for himself. Arthur got on his feet and hazarded a step towards the leader and the person who had landed on top of him and found it to be a girl... maybe.

She was wearing the garb of a man, black pants made of a fabric he had never seen before a strange sleeveless shirt with lace see-through and black down the side of it. Her shoes seemed normal but they were made out of some strange materials he had never seen before. Her hair was even cut in that of a man's, shoulder length glossy raven colored hair, pin straight and framing her pale face. But he could tell that she was a woman, the mounds heaving up and down as she took in ragged breaths were a clear sign that this was in face a female.

He groaned and sat up, rubbing her hip like it hurt and Arthur realized that that must have been the impact point. glanced over to Arthur with squinted eyes of pain and took note of the swords in his hands.

She pointed at him crying out wildly as she scrambled to get on her feet. "What the hell?" she cried. She turned again and saw the man that she had collided with and took a step away from him. "Oh, my God!"

She whirled around taking in the trees and the lake and seemed to be completely confused about her surroundings. "What— Wait! This isn't London!" she cried. She turned to Arthur and he could finally see the color of her eyes. A blue, as crystal clear as the water had been that morning, like sapphires shining at him. He was lost in her eyes and it was the sound of the panic in her voice that brought him back to reality.

"Where am I? She asked him. She took a step forward and Arthur raised the sword that had drooped in his hand. Instantly she took a step back.

He continued to look her up and down, she certainly didn't look like a witch but one couldn't be too careful with magic. She was looking him up and down as well, she gestured to him before asking: "Why are you dressed like you work at Medieval World?"

Arthur's eyes narrowed at her, that tone insinuated that this Medieval World was a place to be ridiculed. The fact that she was inferring that he worked there was insulting to him, even if he didn't know what it was. "How did you come through a magic portal?" he shot back.

The girl stared at him, her eyebrows furrowed together momentarily before she mockingly raised an eyebrow in a quizzical manner. She was looking at him like he was crazy. "A magic portal?" she asked. "What the bloody-hell are you on about?"

Arthur pointed the sword at her throat as she scrambled back on him and he advanced on her. "You're not a witch are you?" he growled. "I mean, if you are, you're not a good one!"

The girl just continued to stare at him, her mouth open in shock and horror and he sighed. "Fine, where are you from, maybe I can help you get back there."

"London," she said firmly crossing her hands over her chest, now that she was standing he could see that her shirt bared a lot more skin than he anticipated, he could see the top of something underneath probably binding for her breasts, odd he had never seen that vibrant a color of pink before.

She snapped her fingers at him pulling his eyes away from her chest and noted that the look on her face was one of disgust. "My eyes are up here," she snarled hiding her bosom from him. "Now, where am I?"

"Albion," Arthur growled not liking this girl's attitude. "You're right outside of Camelot."

At this the girl laughed and Arthur was surprised. "Oh right. Are you pulling my leg? Camelot? The city of Legend? All those Arthurian tales? Knights of the round table and other such myths?" she asked with a jolly smile on her face.

Arthur blinked her eyes at her confused he had never heard of round tables or myths, but he hadn't been lying about the name of his city. She frowned at him. "No, None of it's real. It's all fairy tales!"

"My name is Arthur Penndragon and I can swear to you, even show you that Camelot is real not a mere legend," he growled.

The girl scoffed. "Oh great, I'm with a psycho who thinks he's King Arthur. Lovely."

"I'm not king yet, I'm just Prince Arthur at the moment," he said crossly. "Am I taking you to Camelot or not?"

"Sure, fine, show my your Camelot," she said with a roll of her eyes. "But if you try anything buddy I will honestly kick your butt!"

Arthur shook his head at her and side stepped around her to lead her through the forest. He shot a glance over his shoulder to her taking in her clothes and he paused. "I can't bring you into Camelot like that, we'll have to get you a change of clothes first."

The girl huffed at him, her hands on her hips now as she tapped her foot impatiently in the dirt. "Oh? And why is that?"

"We don't like magic here. If my father finds out about the circumstances of your arrival he'll execute you for sure," Arthur answered.

The girl rolled her eyes. "For the love of god, I am not a witch," she growled. She pointed a slim finger at him and said: "You need professional help, you know that?"

Arthur shook his head but they continued on down the path. After a moments of silence with the girl following in his footsteps she suddenly cleared her throat. "So... you said you were a prince?" she asked.

"Yes, I am Crown prince," he answered slowly. "If you're not a witch what are you? A mercenary?"

The girl laughed a hollow scoffing chuckle. "I'm a waitress. I serve people food for a living."

Arthur turned back to her looking her up and down once again. "You're a Tavern Wench? In that outfit? You must not get many tips."

The girl scowled again. "Those are some pretty heavy insults you're throwing at someone you barely know," she snarled to him. "You're lucky you have a sword and I think you're crazy otherwise I would have blackened one of your eyes by now."

Arthur nodded stoically. "You are right. I do not know you. What is your name then?"

The girl pushed past him and followed the dirt path "My name is Addison," she answered.

"Alright Addison, and where do you think you're going?" he wondered.

"I am following this path to civilization and I am leaving your crazy ass behind," she growled stomping through the bushes.

Arthur chuckled but followed closely after her. He watched as she hiked through the brush. She stumbled over every twig and over turned root, actually falling sometimes. She jumped at every leaf that touched her skin and she considered every noise a threat.

She jumped at the sound of a rabbit dashing through the grass and she yelped again whirling around and grabbing onto him, shielding her face with his shoulder. Arthur sighed and narrowed his eyes at her. "For someone who claims to be a serving wench you sure do act like a pampered princess," he said.

Addison shoved him away from her before stumbling her way out of the trees and out onto the openness of the dirt road. "Well, what do you expect?" she snarled. "I'm a city girl. You know running water, paved roads, working electricity and wifi. I don't do nature or roughing it."

Arthur's eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar words. "What do you mean?" he wondered. "I do not understand how you can go from talking about rivers and then something about your roads and what is electicitry and why-fy?"

Addison turned to him her eyes wide with shock. "Oh, wow, complete dedication to the role huh?" she asked. "I commend you for the accuracy but this means you are one seriously grade-A psycho."

Arthur continued to follow her as she climbed up the hill. She got the top before him, and she was out of breath indicating that walking wasn't something she did on a regular basis and it made him wonder how someone like her could be out of shape. She had paused though and she had gone rigid and as he climbed the hill to stand beside her he could see the full horror illuminated on her face as she looked around.

She pointed at the castle walls in front of her and she took a hesitant step back. "What the hell is that?" she cried. "It's... it's..."

"That's Camelot," Arthur finished for her.

Addison shook her head back and forth big dew drop like tears forming in her eyes. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, this cannot be happening. Where am I?" she cried.

"I just told you that you're in Camelot, what are you not understanding?" Arthur asking trying to grab a hold of her and keep her still but she kept throwing off his hands and backing away from him.

"No! This isn't real!" she screamed. She began to look around wildly, her chest heaving her tears falling from her eyes. "So what? I'm in another dimension? I time travelled?"

Arthur shrugged not understanding what she was saying. Her tears were larger now, she looked him in the eye her lip trembling for the first time she looked vulnerable and scared. "How do I get home?" she asked.

Arthur's heart melted as she collapsed to the dirt gasping for air as she sobbed. He knelt down beside her. "I don't know how," he said putting a hand on her knee. "But I can promise you that until I find a way to send you back home I will protect you, keep you safe, give you a place to stay."

Addison looked up to him, her eyes shining with the bright light of hope. "You... you promise?" she asked sniffing lightly.

"You have my word as Crown Prince," he said solemnly.

She answered him by launching herself f at him wrapping her arms around his neck. It was completely brazen and unceremonious and there wasn't a thing that could stop him from holding her back. An unfamiliar feeling settled into this chest. He didn't know it but those words were a vow, an everlasting bond forming between him and her. It was a bond that could never be broken, not by anyone, or any force, including time, magic and death.


	2. Chapter 1

Out of Time

xStarletx

Chapter 1: Out of Kindness

_A/N: Here it is, the second installment in this reboot. Enjoy the epic cuteness that is Merlin and Addison, and Addison and Arthur. Trust me, I've turned up the cuteness on these guys. Don't forget to tell me what you think ;)_

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Merlin didn't have the best first day in Camelot. His mother had sent him there to be safe, to learn from Gaius who she hoped would teach him how to use his great gift for magic. He was forced to conclude that his mother had no idea what was going on in Camelot. Sure it was beautiful, but it was much more dangerous than he had thought it would be. It's king, Uther Penndragon, had banned all use of magic and it was the execution of a man accused of practicing witch craft that Merlin witness his first few moments in Camelot. If Merlin was found out, he had no doubt he would lose his head on the chopping block.

But it wasn't all that bad, after all, he had a temporary job, running potions for Gaius and for the first time he felt like he could very much, possibly, belong here. He was out on his first delivery on his second day in Camelot, having decided that he could be a new person here, not the spastic klutz who was always in trouble like he had been in his home village, when he saw it.

He had made it all the way to the lower barracks in his desire to just explore the city when he found a group of knights practicing their target skills. They were led by a tall blonde in red tunic with bits of shiny silver amour on his shoulder, his neck and his arm. He was forcing a shrimpy servant to run with his target as the blonde threw knives at him.

The poor kid was running about completely terrified as the blonde laughed at him forcing him to run faster. The blonde threw the last dagger with such force the poor servant fell down and Merlin had seen enough. Merlin had always been against such tyranny, especially since, as a shrimpy guy himself, he was constantly on the wrong end of that sort of tyranny. With his own little secret up his sleeve, he could probably best this guy before he even knew what had happened to him.

Merlin knew it was rash and stupid but he just had to stand to the muscled bound knife wielding prat. "Okay, that's enough."

The blonde turned to him, shock on his pointed face. "What?" he snapped.

"You've had your fun my friend," Merlin told him.

"Do I know you?" The blonde asked, striding towards Merlin. It took all of three of his large powerful steps and he was right across from Merlin.

Merlin offered him a hand to shake. "Oh, I'm Merlin."

"So I don't know you," the blonde clarified. "And yet you called me friend?"

"That was my mistake, I could never have friend who could be such an ass," he said softly with a casual shrug of his shoulder.

The blonde's eyes widened at the insult, but he regained his composure and smiled pointedly at Merlin. "Or I who could be so stupid," he shot back. "Tell me Merlin do you know how to walk on your knees?

"No," Merlin answered quickly.

"Would you like me to teach you?"

"I wouldn't if I were you."

"Why?" the blonde asked with a smug grin on his face. He seemed to be enjoying this, if only he knew who he was up against. "What are you going to do?"

"You don't want to know," Merlin snarled.

The blonde turned his joyous smile to his group of friends and laughed his surprise to them and it was at that precise moment that Merlin saw her for the first time. The little brunette in a sky blue dress who came bounding out of nowhere, she stopped just short of the blonde and peered over his shoulder to Merlin with curiosity in her bright blue eyes.

"Come on! Let's see what you got!" The blonde crowed.

Merlin was only half interested in the blonde now that his eyes were locked with the brunette's. There was a look of urgent worry on her pale face as she shook her head back and forth in a silent warning. After a moment's silence the blonde turned and the girl, noticing his stare, tore her eyes off of Merlin and lowered her eyes bashfully at the blonde.

"Do you want something?" he asked her. The brunette shook her head slowly and he pushed her away from him. "Then go do something useful."

Merlin frowned, it was one thing to be throwing things at a helpless servant, but pushing around a beautiful brunette for no reason was just going too far. Merlin threw off his jacket, catching the blonde's attention. "Alright mate, it was fine when you were just insulting me, but no one pushes around a lady!" Merlin warned.

The blonde spread his arms out, inviting Merlin to hit him with all that he's got. "Come on then!" he snarled.

Merlin threw the strongest punch he could muster, only to have the blonde catch the hand in the air and twist it so Merlin was forced to spin around as the blonde's twist kept his arm at an awkward position behind his back. Merlin yelped and the blonde continued to twist. "I'm going to throw you in jail for that," he hissed into Merlin's ear.

"Who do you think you are the king?" Merlin snarled.

"No, I'm his son..."

He was going to tell him his name when suddenly a timid voice broke through their conversation. "Arthur?"

It was a hesitant cry and immediately Arthur turned, taking Merlin with him. Together they took at the brunette who was clutching her hand and shaking. There were big crystal tears in her eyes as she blinked rapidly and stared at the blonde.

"I went to get your knives... to be useful and it slipped and... and..." she whispered baring her hand to him. A red crimson leaked from her palm and in that heart wrenching instant Arthur let him go to be at her side.

Merlin dropped to the ground, not expecting to be let go so soon. He stood quickly and walked over to where Arthur was taking care of the girl, he stood on the outside wondering if there was something he could do to help her.

He took a hold of her hand and looked over the damage, but nothing could be seen through the dark red leaking from her. "Why? Who was supposed to be watching her?" Arthur asked. He had her hand in his as his eyes bore holes into the knights accompanying him, all of them were avoiding his eyes. None wanted to tell him that it was he who was supposed to be watching her.

The girl on the other hand was looking right at Merlin again, mesmerizing him. She was urging him to do something but he didn't understand what it was she wanted him to do. Arthur turned quickly and ripped Merlin's neckerchief off of his neck and began to wipe away the excess blood from her fingers.

There was a moment's silence before Arthur turned his surprised eyes at her. "But... there's no cut..." he whispered.

The sighed heavily and looked to Merlin. "Alright then, plan C," she cried. She ducked quickly before Arthur could grab her. She gripped both of his legs and pulled back knocking Arthur over. The girl was up before Arthur, she grabbed onto Merlin and began to pull him away.

"Don't just stand there... run!"

She took off, her still sticky hand intertwined with Merlin's. His cheeks were flushed at the contact. Behind him Arthur roared a single name. : _Addison!_ And the girl merely giggled.

She pulled Merlin down the busy streets, eventually stopping behind a jewellery stall. She peered out at the crowd breathless but smirking. She turned to Merlin and shook her head to him. "You're lucky I was there to save your butt!" she cried.

Merlin bristled at the comment. "I didn't ask for your help," he growled. "I would have been fine in the end."

"You would have ended up in a cell," she said matter-o-factly standing up. "Well, come on, you can escort me to the castle."

Merlin stood but was hesitant to go anywhere with her. "Who exactly are you?" he asked. "I mean, that was Prince Arthur, and he seems oddly attached to you, are you, like, his princess bride?"

She blew a sarcastic raspberry at him. "God no, my name's Addison and I am far from royalty."

"And you gave the prince the slip again?" the old jeweler asked peering at them from behind thin spectacles. "What shall I tell him when he inevitably comes this way?"

"The truth of course, no point for you to get thrown in the dungeon for a lie you need not tell," she said softly.

She offered her arm to him and Merlin took it. He liked the idea of walking the streets of Camelot with the beautiful Addison in his arms. "So if you're not royalty, what are you to Arthur?"

She shrugged softly. "His ward, I suppose. He's supposed to look out for me and as you can see I take great joy in making that task difficult."

"And the blood on your hands?"

"A simple splash of wine and berry juice," she responded with a wave of her hand. "Had you noticed the cue you would have understood to run while I had him distracted."

"Well thank-you for deciding to help me," Merlin whispered. "Uh... my name is Merlin by the way, I'm Gaius' new apprentice... for the time being anyway."

"Ah, it's about time he found someone to assist him. I'm afraid we work him rather hard here," Addison whispered.

Merlin was enjoying the walk back to the castle. She was an easy kind of person to talk to, the sort of person who could talk anyone into revealing their deepest secrets. She was someone he'd have to be careful about, especially with what he did or said around her. When they reached the castle Merlin found himself frowning.

Addison was fidgeting and looking around. "Would you mind waiting with me? I'm not really allowed to wander around on my own," she said softly.

Merlin grinned mischievously. "Oh? And why is that?"

She winced a bit. "It's kind of a long story," she said waving it off. She was chewing nervously on her lower lip pinkening it. "Usually Arthur finds me by now. It's not like him to lose me for this long."

"Addison!" came a booming voice and then Uther was storming towards them.

Merlin shrunk away from him, not wanting to catch the King's attention, not with his special abilities. Addison took in the glare on the king's face and backed away from him. She curtsied as he approached her, she was no longer the happy girl Merlin had been getting used to but instead she looked terrified as he bore down on her.

"What's this I hear about you embarrassing Arthur out at the gates?" he asked stopping in front of her. Addison tried to respond her words mixed with stutters and Uther cut her off. "If he will not teach you to respect him then I will!"

He pulled back his arm to strike her, and she was already cringing as she awaited the blow. Merlin wanted to step in but he didn't have to. Just as the first was about to strike, Arthur appeared to catch the arm.

Uther ripped his arm out of his son's grasp as Arthur swept Addison behind him. Father and son were suddenly caught in a staring match. "I asked Addison to distract me. She is still the only willing person who will try to catch me off guard," he snapped. "It's good practice. Not all my opponents will be as clear cut as in training."

"Then how did she end up without you as her chaperone? I told you if you couldn't control her you wouldn't be allowed to escort her out," he whispered in a stern and dangerous tone.

"That was not her fault, the boy, Merlin, took her with him when he ran from his arrest. I supposed he thought she was in danger too," Arthur responded.

For the first time Uther's eyes found Merlin and the guards took a hold of his upper arms. "What did the boy do?"

Addison bowed her head against Arthur's back, causing Arthur to straighten. Her slim fingers gripped the red fabric, holding onto him as if he could keep her grounded. "He insulted me, attempted to defend Addison's honor, which did not need defending by the way, and then threw a punch at me. Clearly I deflected it, Addison chose that time to execute her plan and the boy, now free, took off with her."

"Hmm," Uther said dismissively. "Well, take them both to the dungeon."

At that moment two more guards appeared and took a hold of Addison. They pulled her away from Arthur and towards a side door by the stairs to the castle. Merlin watched as Arthur's lips twitched into a frown as she was taken from him and soon Merlin was following after her. They travelled down several staircases until they came to the cells. Merlin was shoved into one and as the door shut he grabbed a hold of the fabric of Addison's dress to still her as she went by.

Miraculously the guards halted and Addison turned to him. "I'm so sorry!" he said to her. "It's my fault you're down here.

Addison giggled. "No it's not," she said with a smile. "I live down here."

There was a click of a key in a lock and then the guards were ushering Addison away. Merlin stood there blinking his eyes surprised. The Prince's ward was kept in the dungeon? Something told him that he would have to get that long story out of Addison, no matter what the prattish Prince wanted.


	3. Chapter 2

Out of Time

Avalon Reese

Chapter 2: Out of Gratitude

_I do not own BBC I but I own most of this plot and the characters I've created_

_A/N: So here's the next part of the series. Things are starting to get more serious, the drama is a starting and poor Addison is going to get mixed up in a wrong way. Please enjoy :) _

* * *

Lady Helena's caravan had stopped for the evening. They had set up her tent right away before tending to anything else so she could have time to rest while they got the camp ready. Hours later, after the moon had risen and the fire had been set, Lady Helena sat at the makeshift vanity brushing her hair in the mirror. There was a noise outside and she jumped. The forest was always full of noises and seeing as she was constantly travelling she should have been used to it.

"My Lady..." came a croaking voice and this time Lady Helena jumped and yelped.

She turned around and found behind her an old crone, hunched over with a wrinkly face and stringy grey hair. Her cold eyes peered out from underneath heavy white eyebrows and her clothes were nothing more than scraps of fabric sewn together and covered in mud and leaves.

Lady Helena calmed herself and tried to smile. "Oh my! I'm sorry, you startled me!"

The old lady took a tentative step forward. "I wonder if you would be so kind as to spare me a cup of cool water. I have been travelling for so long and I am a dreadful far way away from my destination."

"Of course," Lady Helena cried, jumping to her feet. She pointed to the now empty chair. "Please sit down."

As Lady Helena poured a cup of coal water she heard the old lady ask: "So where is it you be travelling?"

"To Camelot. I am going to sing for King Uther," she replied. She turned quickly and found the old lady right behind her. She grabbed a hold of Helena's hand and began to hum. Suddenly she was filled with a terrible burning. The humming continued and as it intensified she watched in horror as the old lady became her and when she was fully Lady Helena she dropped the lifeless corpse to the ground. The old lady, now Lady Helena smiled deviously to herself. Yes revenge was at hand.

* * *

When Merlin awoke he could hear the sound of someone singing a loud tune he didn't recognize and underneath it he swore he could hear someone calling his name. Suddenly: "Merlin!" Gaius shouted from the other side of the bars. "You never cease to amaze me. The one thing someone like you should do is keep your head down. And what do you do? You behave like an idiot."

Merlin who had jumped up to greet him just as he came to the door hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry."

"I trust you enjoyed your stay in the palace dungeons." He said softly, trying a less angry approach with the boy.

Merlin scoffed. "Sure, it was a great stretch for my back," he said. "Tell me you're getting me out of here!"

"Yes! Lucky for you Addison took most of the blame, but I did manage to pull a few strings to get you out of prison," Gaius told him, hinting to something he didn't want to say.

Merlin was completely oblivious to it all. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I won't forget this."

"Well there is a small price to pay,"

"What does that mean?" he asked. The guards unlocked his cell and dragged him off. Apparently that the price landed Merlin in the stocks.

He didn't even bother to protest when the children began pelting him with rotten vegetables, this was his own fault for acting out. He had ducked his head to avoid the onslaught of food coming at him and when he looked up again a beautiful dark skinned girl had come up to him in a beautiful rose colored gown and matching cloak.

Her frizzy dark brown hair was pulled back but a few tendrils had escaped and hugged her jaw line. She smiled sheepishly at him and said: "I'm Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen. I'm the Lady Morgana's maid," she introduced.

"Right, I'm Merlin," he said back, offering her an awkwardly posed had to shake, which she took without any hesitation. "Thought most people just call me idiot."

"No, no!" Gwen said quickly. "I saw what you did, so brave."

"It was so stupid," Merlin sighed.

"Well I'm glad you walked away, you weren't going to beat him," Gwen said with a casual shrug.

Merlin frowned and huffed. "Oh, hey, wait, I could beat him."

Gwen cocked her head in a quizzical manner. "You think? Because you don't look like one of these big muscle-ie type fellows."

Merlin's eyebrows drew together not sure why this girl was talking to him if she was going to be like that, and better yet what was he supposed to say? "Uh... thanks," was all he could think of.

Suddenly she jumped as if understanding the implication behind her words. "Oh! No, no!" she cried waving her hands back and forth quite quickly. "I'm sure you're stronger than you look. It's just that Arthur's one of these real rough, tough, save-the-world kind of men... well..."

She had trailed off and bit and Merlin was getting edgy, he wanted to hear what she was going to say. "What?" he asked.

"You don't look like that," she admitted.

Merlin looked back and forth before becoming her to come closer with a quick nod of his head. "I'm in disguise," he whispered to her and that earned him an honest laugh.

"Well, it's great you stood up to him," she told him, her smile returning to her face.

"Oh? You really think so?" Merlin asked

"Arthur's a bully and everyone thought you were a real hero. I bet Addison loved how riled up you got him," she said. Merlin nodded and Gwen continued. "Addison's about the only one who gets away with talking back to Arthur, so that's probably what this is all about. She took a shine to you and Arthur hates it when she takes a shine to people who aren't him."

Merlin frowned bitterly but couldn't find it in him to be mad at Addison. It wasn't her fault after all she had only been trying to save him. "Yes, she seems to be all sorts of trouble."

"Yes, well, she means well and all of that but she's often trying Arthur's patience for her own weird entertainment. I mean, I would too if I had to live in the dungeons but it does mean that he gets really upset when anything happens and it involves her," she explained.

They were silent a moment and Merlin suddenly asked: "Do you know why Addison has to live in the dungeon?" Guinevere was going to answer when Merlin suddenly noticed the children coming back with bushels of more food. "Oh, uh-oh, it looks like my fans are waiting."

She nodded in farewell to him before running off. Merlin got all of two seconds to watch her saunter away before he was once again being pelted. He sighed to himself. He was never going to get that answer.

* * *

Addison was dragged into the throne room and was shoved towards Uther who was sitting in his throne reading over pages of parchment. She blinked her eyes at him as the guards left her, shutting the door behind them as they went. She waited until he beckoned her forward and then she shakily walked towards the throne, stopped five steps away and curtsying, the motion rehearsed to perfection and branded in her mind.

He put his paper's down and opened his mouth but before he could talk she said: "Whatever it is, I didn't do it."

She always spoke before Uther gave her permission to. She kept assuring him that it was because of where she came from and she honestly meant no offence. After a full year he had successfully gotten used to her talking before he spoke to her. "I'm aware," he said with a chuckle. "I called you in to talk about Lady Helena's performance for the feast."

Addison was immediately excited, she had a big smile plastered to her face and she was bouncing a bit. "Right! I wanted to talk to you about that too!" she interrupted. Uther pinned her with a stern glare and her smile faded instantly. Her fingers went up to her lips covering them, almost as if that would hold back the words now stuck in her mouth. She mumbled a polite. "Sorry."

"Lady Helena is due to arrive tomorrow," he continued. "You will not be permitted to sing and of your loud monring songs. It will be an insult to her to hear your crude singing."

Addison seemed perplexed by this request as if not singing was something she had never heard of before. "Will it be alright if I sing quietly?" she asked.

Uther sighed. "Yes, fine, but if I hear you singing at any point I will have your lips sewn shut," he warned.

Addison nodded solemnly. "Fair deal!" she said. "Uhm, if you're finished, can I ask my question now?"

Uther nodded standing up and discarding the papers on the table. He picked up a bit of fruit and Addison followed after him, but always staying at least three steps away from him. Out of hitting range. He offered her some of the fruit but she shook her head. She never took what he offered her.

"I was actually really interested in seeing Lady Helena's performance. I mean, she's supposed to be the best singer in the kingdom so I really don't want to miss it," she said quickly. "I don't want to talk to her or anything, and I don't even have to sit at the table, if I could maybe stand in a doorway out of trouble, or we could let me be a server again?"

Uther put up a hand and she fell silent again. "After what happened at Yuletide we agreed you'd never be allowed near a serving tray again," he reminded her.

Addison sighed. "I've explained time and time again that wasn't my fault. There was a bar fight and my platter of drinks got knocked out of my hand. You act like I dropped hot mead on you on purpose!"

Uther pinned her with a stern glare and she bit her lip in a nervous manner. "Regardless, you will be confined to your cell for the duration of Lady Helena's stay. I don't want you causing trouble while she's here."

Addison groaned a long, loud and very unlady-like "aww," much like a child and as she did so she rolled her eyes and found the pillows neatly arranged on the floor. She straightened considerably and pointed at them. "Why are those there?" she asked, her eyes wide with expectant horror.

Uther moved towards them. "Because you are going to demonstrate how you escaped Arthur yesterday afternoon."

Addison groaned. "Oh, not again!"

Uther only had to give her another stern glare and she sighed forcibly and stomped over to the pillows. She showed Uther were to stand and before he could count to three Addison had ducked, grabbed onto his legs and then pulled back causing him to topple forward and on top of her. Addison disentangled herself from him and jumped up, running to the door and escaping before Uther could even lift his head from the pillows.

Uther understood how Arthur could be duped by her. Skilled warrior or not, she was an attractive young woman and very distracting. The two guards poke their head in as Uther was pulling his aching and old body off the pillows. He was getting to old to be thrown like that. They stared at him confused, not sure whether they should be helping him or going after Addison.

Once standing Uther glared at them. "Well? Go after her!" her ordered, waving them off and watching as they scrambled to obey. Uther sighed, stretching out the kinks from his old body. That meeting hadn't been as bad as others, he may reform her into a proper lady yet.

* * *

Finally out of the stocks, Merlin was out and about avoiding any trouble what-so-ever and trying to make Gaius proud of him. And he was doing very well until Arthur found of him. When he saw Arthur approaching him on the narrow street he had thought about turning and running away to avoid any sort of interaction, but Arthur wouldn't let him do that.

"How's your knee walking coming along?" Arthur asked. Merlin kept walking so Arthur called after him. "Ach, don't run away!"

Merlin paused. Every fiber of his being told him to run, to not get into this again, but he also, sort of, maybe really wanted to be the hero again. He very much wanted to be the second person to stand up to the great Arthur Penndragon and maybe teach him a thing or two. "From you?" Merlin shot back, refusing to turn and face Arthur.

"Thank god," Arthur breathed out. "I thought you were deaf as well as dumb."

Still refusing to turn around Merlin couldn't help but grin. The Prince really was asking for it. "Look, I've told you, you were an ass. I just didn't realize you were a royal one," he shot back, turning around to see Arthur's face.

It was a comical one. He looked genuinely surprised, and almost amused as well. Merlin briefly wondered if Arthur had Addison with him, but he figured she would have appeared by now if she was. "Oh? What are you going to do, get your daddy's men to protect you?" Merlin asked.

This time Arthur actually laughed. "I could take you apart with one blow!"

"I could take you apart with much less," Merlin warned.

"You sure?" Arthur asked and Merlin answered by jacking off his jacket and throwing it aside. For some reason this just made Arthur laugh louder. He pulled out a mace from some unknown origin and threw it at Merlin who just wasn't not ready. "Here you go, big man."

Merlin stooped down to pick up the mace he had dropped and when he had Arthur had somehow produced another mace and was swinging it above his head as he advanced on Merlin. "Though, I will warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth."

Merlin may not have been strong, but his mind was definitely agile. "Wow! And how long have you been training to be a prat?"

Arthur dropped the mace at this point and scowled at Merlin. "You _can't_ address me like that," he said with a scoff.

"Sorry," Merlin said quickly. "How long have you been training to be a prat, my lord?" He even added a quick little bow at the end. Arthur responded by swinging the mace at his head, luckily Merlin had the good sense to duck.

Of course this was a horrid idea, Merlin was so flimsy. Still he had his secret weapon, his magic, and as long as no one noticed he could get away with using it and not losing his head. At first it was small stuff, making the sickles move so that when Arthur swung his mace it would wrap around the blades, giving Merlin time to get away. The second was just moving a box in the way so that when Arthur walked into it it would bash back into his knee. Worked like a charm, Arthur even roared with pain and anger.

The last one he had done was pull a rope taunt across the narrow pathway so Arthur tripped over it. And then Merlin had him on the rails. He took Arthur's mace and kept asking him if he wanted to give up. Of course Arthur didn't, he backed away, getting his foot stuck in a pail and falling back to the ground. Cheers from the people echoed around him and Merlin was feeling pretty proud of himself, even if he was holding the mace wrong.

That was, until Gaius appeared in the crowd looking far from pleased or proud. Merlin paused and in that moment Arthur took his opened and tackled Merlin to the ground. He got up and the guards went to grab Merlin, but Arthur stopped them. "Nope, let him go. He may be an idiot but he's a brave one."

He was going to say more too but he was interrupted when a body crashed through the thatched roof of the vender's stall and into a heap of empty boxes. Both Arthur and Merlin recognized the particular shade of blue and the groaning. In an instant Arthur had abandoned Merlin to rush to Addison's side. He briefly glanced up to the hole she had created before pulling her out of the boxes and into his arms.

She continued to groan, her head rolling to the side. "Addison... but... how?" he cried, to exasperated to find the words.

Her head flopped back. "Ugh! It hurts everywhere!" she cried. Arthur shook her, startling a low moan from her. "Alright, alright. I escaped your father and went looking for you and... and.. well I fell off the parapet again," she replied weakly.

"What were you doing up there?" Arthur asked her sternly. "I've told you time and time again, you are too clumsy to be up there, even if you're supervised."

Addison winced, Merlin could tell she wasn't fit to stand she was practically limp in Arthur's arms. "I sort of saw you and Merlin fighting and that's not fair, you being so big and him being so fragile."

"Oi!" Merlin snapped, but he was ignored.

"I was trying to get to him before you took his head off and... well... I sort of slipped," Addison finished.

Arthur turned his accusatory glare to Merlin who shrugged. Luckily for him Gaius appeared to keep Merlin from getting arrested a second time. He cleared his throat to get Arthur's attention. "What?" he barked.

If Gaius was fazed by the rude treatment he didn't show it. "I think it would be wise to take her to my chambers so she can be tended to," he offered.

Arthur bent down quickly and pulled Addison up in his arm, her legs over one arm and her head resting against his shoulder. He walked off without giving Merlin a second thought. Was this how it was always going to be?

* * *

Arthur stood watch over Addison as Gaius poked and prodded at her trying to pinpoint her injuries. Every time she winced but didn't say anything Arthur would tell Gaius and Addison would scowl at him. Didn't she see that he was just trying to keep her safe?

The door opened and Arthur jumped worried that it was his father and his precious moment with Addison would be over. Instead it was Merlin, the whelp who was too much trouble for what he was worth. Brave though, stupid, trouble, but brave, a lot like Addison, except not nearly as lovely.

He scowled at the boy but Addison was smiling. "Hi Merlin!"

"Hey Addison! How are you feeling?" he asked. He went around the scowling Arthur to stand in front of her.

Gaius chose that moment to poke her shoulder causing her to grimace, but she shook it off and in seconds her normal smile was back on her face, her big blue eyes shining up at Merlin in an annoying manner. "I'm fine!"

"She winced," Arthur growled from his spot leaning against Gaius' work table.

Merlin shot him a worried glance before Addison pulled him down onto the spot on the bed beside her. She smiled warmly and Arthur had a sneaking suspicion that he was completely forgotten. "Do you think you'll have to stay the night?" Merlin asked her.

There was a mischevious twinkle in his eyes that made Arthur unreasonably angry. "No," he growled.

The surprised pair turned to him, Addison blinked her eyes but Merlin looked like he might say something stupid and Arthur hoped he would. It would give him ever excuse to kill him. "She may have to," Gaius said. "The bruising on her back is extensive and I fear something might be broken."

Arthur rolled his eyes. That was something he didn't want to hear, and for two reason. One, he would have to ask his father permission and that required telling him what happened, or a milder version of it. Two, that meant that his lovely Addison was injured, he once again failed to protect her and there was a good chance she'd be staying here with Merlin after all which was just not acceptable.

"I'm fine, honest. We all know I bruise easily," Addison said softly. Her fingers brushed against Merlin's, and he very carefully put his hand on top of hers.

Arthur tried to keep his anger in, but he was pretty sure he was turning red. How dare she be so brazen with a man she had just met? Though, she had told him once about a type of love that was immediate, at first sight, she had called it. Was this was this was? Had she fallen for Merlin at first sight? Why would she, he was nothing spectacular, but then again Addison had such weird tastes in everything.

A sudden fanfare trumpeted loudly in the distance causing Arthur to jump and straighten while Addison groaned. "What? What is it?" Merlin wondered.

"The Lady Helena is here," Arthur answered.

"That means Uther won't be letting me stay here," Addison added. "Straight to the dungeons for me."

"Come on, Addison," Arthur said taking a few steps towards her. Addison put her hands in his and let him pull her up. She was still unsteady on her feet so she held a little tighter to him. "I have to take you back."

Merlin stood quickly. "But she needs to be tended to!" he argued. Arthur glared at him but he noted that Gaius was nodding in agreement. "I... I can take her back if you need to go."

Arthur frowned at him, not wanting to leave Addison alone with the clown. He did not trust Merlin's intentions. "I'll be okay Arthur, Gaius will finish, Merlin will take me back and you won't be late, everyone's happy," Addison whispered. "I'm in enough trouble with your father as it is."

She was right of course, she couldn't afford to get any farther onto Uther's bad side. But he was actually sort of hurt that she wanted him to leave. "I suppose it's alright, but I want a full report and a messenger to come up if you need to stay here."

He helped her sit back down and reluctantly let go over her hands. She had a softer sort of smile on him and he wondered if her accident had caused her some sort of exhaustion, she did look tired. He looked up to Merlin with a very stern look. "This is a one-time thing," he warned before he left.

It wasn't the first time that Arthur wished he could give up his princely duties for the day to be with Addison, but it was the first time he was worried she preferred someone else over him. Arthur frowned to himself, he would have to find a way to keep Addison away from Merlin.

He was contemplating which way he would kill Merlin when a soldier came up to him. "I'm sorry my lord, but there's a problem in the lower galley and you are needed," he told him bowing lowly. Arthur sighed, there were his damned princely duties again. His father would understand. He would just have to meet Lady Helena later.


	4. Chapter 3

Out of Time

xStarletx

Chapter 3: Out of Doubt

_A/N: I know this is late and I'm sorry. I just got so busy this past week that I had no time to take this chapter and type it out. But there it is and we've got some fun things going on, hopefully you enjoy it. In this chapter Addison gets herself in a lot of trouble, the real question is whether or not Arthur can save her. Please tell me what you think :)_

* * *

Lady Helena swept into the grand hall where Uther was awaiting her. He welcomed her with open arms but instead of letting him hug her she had stopped short of him and curtsied politely.

Uther lowered his arms and tried to smile at the woman gracing them with her presence. "What a pleasure it is to welcome you to Camelot," he whispered politely.

"The pleasure is mire," she said with a low silken purr. "I am delighted to have the honour to sing at your festivities."

Uther nodded curtly. "I trust you found no troubles on your journey."

"None at all, but Iam weary from it," she told him.

"Yes, of course. My men will take you to your room. Tomorrow night you and I will dine and the night after is the celebration," he reminded her.

Lady Helena nodded curtly. "Thank you, my lord."

Had Uther cared to notice he would have seen the dangerous gleam in her eyes paired with a vicious smile. But he didn't, so he was unaware of the dangers in the store.

* * *

Arthur had not been at the welcoming of Lady Helena, having had no choice but to deal with the disturbance at the lower gates. His father had been far from happy with him, but he couldn't argue with Arthur's princely duties. So once his father was done with him he headed straight to the dungeons to check on Addison. Merlin should have taken her back by now, but when he got to her cell she was not there.

Addison's cell was lavish compared to most servant quarters, practically a palace compared to the rest of the cells. Her bed was covered in big fluffy pillows for her neck and large quilts because she was always cold. Three of the walls were covered in bolts of bright blue silk save for one wall where she had made Arthur pay various artists paint pictures of her and her friends. Arthur had made certain that most of them were of him and her. She had carpets on the floor to keep her feet were getting cold, three shelves, one filled with books, one for her knickknacks and jewelry and the last for her clothes and shoes.

But she wasn't there.

Angry Arthur stormed out of the dungeon. She must still be with that big eared twerp, Merlin. He expressly told him to bring her back right away. HE had been climbing up the stairs to go in search of them when he heard it. A familiar peel of laughter echoing down to him, Arthur paused on the stairs and waited. Sure enough Addison came into view a happy smile on her face and beside her was Merlin grinning foolishly at her.

"Did you see how fast his fingers moved on his harp?" she asked Merlin, her eyes were on him she hadn't even noticed Arthur a few steps away from her.

Merlin hadn't noticed him either. "That was nothing compared to your dance moves," he told her and Addison chuckled again.

Arthur tried to bite down his rage but he was sure it was colouring his cheeks. "Have fun did you?" he snapped.

Instantly their eyes turned to him and Addison's joyous demeanour faded completely. Clearly he was not to be privy to their happiness and this just made him angrier. He glared ferociously at Merlin. "I told you to take her back to the dungeons."

Addison stepped forward. "Don't be cross Arthur. He couldn't say no to me, you can barely say no to me and I so did want to see that harper at the Tavern and you've been so busy!"

"You took her to the..." Arthur stammered before trailing off. He had been planning to take her there that weekend. He promptly shut his mouth and frowned sternly down at her. "Go to your cell!"

Addison huffed but she got up on her tippy toes and kissed Merlin's pinked cheeks before turning to Arthur and curtsying. It shouldn't have angered him but seeing her lips grace this uncoordinated, undeserving bean stalk burned him with a rage he didn't think was possible to feel.

Addison pushed passed Arthur and continued down the stairs. Once she was gone Arthur turned on Merlin. "There's something about you Merlin, I can't quite put my finger on it," he growled dangerously. "But I suggest that you tread carefully from now on."

It was a vague threat, but it worked. Nothing was going to come between he and Addison and he'd kill anything that tried.

* * *

Merlin, with potion in hand, was making his way over to Lady Helena's quarters when he heard a large crash and a booming voice cry out: "How did you even get out of your cell?"

Instantly Merlin changed direction. He found Addison picked up pieces of a suit of armor as Uther stood above her. Merlin jumped to her rescue. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. He bowed to uther before saying: "There you are. I'm sorry Majesty. Gaius wanted to check up on her after yesterday's fall but I had to deliver Lady Helena's tonic first."

Uther pointed a stern finger in Addison's face. "If I catch you without your escort again I will order you to be leashed every time you leave your cell." He warned.

Addison nodded eagerly, threading her arm with Merlin's. Uther left and Merlin dragged her away, before Uther could change his mind. "Thanks for rescuing me," she said.

"No problem, now we're even," Merlin said trying to flash her with his most charming smile. "How did you get out anyways?"

"So, shall I accompany you today?" Addison asked, changing the topic and Merlin nodded. "Good I was bored anyways."

They walked together in silence until Merlin got the courage to ask her another question. "So, uh, I've been dying to ask... why do you have to live in the dungeons?"

Addison's absent smiled faded as she thought over what he asked her. For a moment he thought she wouldn't answer but she surprised him. "I'm a witch," she said with a serious tone.

Merlin was so shocked by that answer that he came to a complete stop. He had never thought he would find another person like him in his life, least of all in Camelot. She could understand what it was like to go through what he was going through. "Well, not really," she said quickly. "I mean, Uther thinks I'm a witch."

Merlin frowned. "Oh," well that was disappointing. "Why didn't he just kill you then?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew they were insenstive. He opened his mouth to apologize but Addison was chuckling. "Well that would be because I saved Arthur's life a few times and Arthur was very adamant about not killing me," she said. "That and I don't know how to get home."

"Where is your home?" Merlin wondered. "I mean it can't be that far, you got here after all."

Addison came to a halt and Merlin turned to her wondering what he had said wrong. She pointed to a closed door. "We're here," she whispered.

Merlin looked around and realized that she was right. He knocked sharply on the door, he even waited but there was no response. Merlin turned to Addison. "Just wait here," he tried to order, but it sounded more like he was pleading. "I'll go drop this off and then we can go walking."

Addison nodded happily enough and Merlin opened the door. He put the bottle on the dresser half noticing that the mirror was covered for some reason. It was because of that dark bolt of fabric draped haphazardly over the mirror that his eyes caught something else. It was an old, leather bound book, it sort of looked like the one Gaius had given him, but that one was filled with magic.

He opened the book and turned two pages taking in what looked a more specific type of magic compared to his book when he heard: "Whatcha looking at?" as Addison appeared behind him.

Merlin jumped and turned to her. "I told you to wait outside!"

"I don't listen to anyone, not Arthur, or Uther, so why would I listen to you," she said with a scoff and then swept him aside and glancing at the pages. She flipped through it quickly before adding: "Loks like a book on magic."

"How would you know what a book of magic would look like?" Merlin shot back.

Before she could answer the sound of fast approaching footsteps reached their ears. There was a frantic rush to put everything back as they had found it, and during this the fabric covering the mirror slipped off. Merlin rushed out of the room, he didn't realize that Addison wasn't with him until he was two floors away and it was too late.

* * *

Addison had paused, only for a few moments, to fix the fabric that had fallen. It was those few seconds she thought she could spare that turned into her downfall.

"What are you doing in here?" Lady Helena asked from the doorway and Addison abandoned the fabric and let it slide away.

She quickly grabbed the vial Merlin had left and turned to her. She bowed lowly and smiled as politely as she could hoping she didn't look too suspicious. "Gaius sent me to give you your tonice," she explained, showing her the little bottle. "I'm clumsy and knocked the mirror over."

Lady Helena stomped the short distance and snatched the bottle out of Addison's hand. "Thank-you," she said crisply.

"I'll just fix my mess and get out of your hair," Addison whispered quickly. She turned to the mirror despite Lady Helena's protests. "I'm really excited for your performance. I wish I could go but Uther doesn't trust me to behave..."

She had pulled the mirror up and trailed off. The reflection over her shoulder that should have been Lady Helena wasn't hers but some haggard looking old lady. Addison whirled around, her eyes wide and screamed: "Magic!"

Lady Helena hissed a knife appeared in her hand. She lunged for Addison who luckily dodged and ran for the door. "Look, I won't tell anyone, I promise!" she cried. Lady Helena started humming dangerously and Addison had enough. She threw the door open and ran out into the hall. She took practically two steps and ran right into Uther. "Oh thank God!" she cried.

"Uther, Uther, come on!" she said, gripping the front of his black tunic and pulling him to Lady Helena's open door. "She's a witch, like with magic and everything. She tried to kill me, so you're gonna kill her!"

The fake Lady Helena appeared and calmly dusted off her pleats before saying. "You're majesty, thank goodness you've caught her. I found this serving girl going through my jewelry, no doubt wanting to make off with my more expensive pieces."

Addison narrowed her eyes at the witch. "Why would I steal your tacky trinkets? Arthur buys me jewelry all the time," she cried. Uther cleared his throat and she wisely changed topics. "No seriously though, Uther, that's not Lady Helena, that's an old lady in disguise!"

The fake Lady Helena scoffed. "I am barely a year over your age!"

"That's not what I meant and you know it, you imposter!" Addison cried.

Uther pulled Addison to his side and bowed his head to Lady Helena. "May I offer my sincerest apologise, she will be dealt with sternly," he said.

"Wait! What?" Addison cried. She turned to Uther and tried to shake him, but instead ended up pulling his tunic back and forth. "Uther, I'm not lying, just make her look in the mirror and you'll see!"

"That is enough Addison!" he cried. "I've had enough of your lies, you have embarrassed me in front of our guest!"

"With all due respect if you're letting her trick you into believing she's Lady Helena, I'm not the one embarrassing you!" Addison shot back.

"That's it! You are going straight to the dungeon!" he cried, "A good flogging is what you're going to get and your outside privileges are permanently revoked."

Addison titled her chin up and said rather stoically: "Well you better catch me then and the punched him in between the legs. Uther fell down to the ground groaning in pain and Addison bolted away. As she ran away she heard him shouting for the guards and she knew where she would have to go to escape them. This time she wasn't coming back.

* * *

Arthur had purposely refused to see Addison that day to teach her a lesson. To remind her that she needed him and that she wasn't allowed out unless he allowed it. Hopefully she realized that what he did was to protect her and yes he may not have all the time in the world to give to her the time he did give her was precious and she should see it as that and not find someone else to spend her hours with. He returned to his room that evening, tired and sweaty from his evening practice with his knights. He wanted nothing more than to eat his dinner, lie down and rest his aching body.

He was opening the door to his room when Merlin appeared out of the shadows and said but three words: "Addion's in trouble," and that was all it took. Arthur took the hallways searching for Addiosn or his father, he should have been listening to Merlin, who was trailing after him babbling on, but he was too worried to pay attention. His heart was so far out of his chest that he could hear the pounding in his ears, he was more scared than he could ever admit.

He had horrible images running through his mind, knowing that his father had Addison. The longer it took him to find her, the more of those sickly black and purple bruises his father could put on Addison's fair skin. He was expecting the worse, so he was very surprised when Addison suddenly collided with him.

"Oh Arthur!" she said, absently out of breath, she kept looking over her shoulder.

Though she tried to shrug his hands away, Arthur gripped her shoulders tightly and refused to let her move. "What's happening? Merlin says you're in trouble? Are you okay? Where did he hit you?"

"What?" Addison said shaking her head, her blue eyes finally focusing on him. "No, I'm fine, but I can't stay here!"

Arthur held onto her more tightly. "No, it's okay, I can fix it, just tell me what happened!" he ordered.

She pushed Arthur away and side stepped him. "I'm sorry Arthur," she said, a pained look on her face and his heart leapt into his mouth again. An echoing pounding of footsteps and shouts were sudden heard and she started to jog away from him. "It's not your fault, I promise, but this time I can't come back."

"What? Can't come back?" Arthur echoed. "No, Addison, wait!" But she had already taken off. He used to be faster than her, he should have been able to catch up to her but an Addison that wanted to get away was an Addison that couldn't be caught.

He followed her around the corner, but when he got into the hallway she was already gone. He came to a stop, knowing he'd never catch her now. "Don't leave me," he breathed out. There was a brief silence and then from behind him came a thundering herd of palace guards that were supposed to be chasing Addison. Arthur moved out of there way frowning to himself.

When they were all gone, Merlin cleared his throat, making Arthur aware that he was still there. "Where do you think she's going to go?"

Arthur turned his glared to her. "She was with you wasn't she?" he accused. "How did you get her out of the dungeon without my permission?"

"I didn't get her out, she was already out when I found her. I was going to keep her safe I swear but... well... I guess it's a lot harder than it looks," Merlin said.

Arthur scoffed, Addison must have picked the lock of her cell again, or tricked a guard into letting her out before losing him. "If something happens to her, I'm going to hold you personally responsible," he snarled to the younger raven-haired boy before shoving past him to go in search of his father. He was practically trembling he was so scared and angry.

Oh Addison, what if he never saw her again? The prospect was too terrifying to even think of.


End file.
